Who is she?
by ReadingRobyn
Summary: Ranger is in the wind and has left Tank in charge. Tank runs into an old college friend named Stephanie and hires her onto Rangeman. What happens when Ranger returns home to find Stephanie? Babe HEA
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- All of these characters belong to Janet Evanovich. If in the future there is a character that you do not know, then they're mine. I am making no money for this. Enjoy and please review!! Also I need a beta reader if anyone wants the job.

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**Tank's (POV)**

I had just entered the _Blue Moon_, a bar in Trenton, after a horrible take down. It was supposed to be an easy redecoration job, but one of the junkies went crazy and got the better of Zero and now he was in the hospital with a stab wound and a concussion. I don't know how Ranger could run this company all the time. Right now Ranger is 'in the wind' as he likes to call it and I have been put in charge of running his company.

I sighed as Lester and I sat down at the bar, ordering a bud and Lester did the same. As I was working on my second, a hand landed on my shoulder and a beautiful voice spoke, "Pierre? Oh my gosh Pierre, I haven't seen you in years! What are you doing here? Last I heard you were in the army." I looked over to see a familiar face. Stephanie Plum. She and I had gone to college together and she was the prettiest, most beautiful woman that I had ever met, and she still was. Last I had heard, she had married the dick head that she had dated throughout college.

I quickly and discreetly checked her out. She was dressed in a crimson red dress with black FMPs. I quickly checked her left hand, no ring. I smiled at her and responded.

"Hello Stephanie. God do you look amazing." She blushed as if she had no idea how hot she really was. "I live here now. I work for a company called Rangeman. I left the army about two years ago and was working at my companies building in Miami until just a couple of weeks ago."

I checked my surroundings, something that I had trained myself to do a long time ago. I recognized Stephanie's friend Mary Lou, who I had also met in college.

"Hello Mary Lou." Lester chose this moment to remind me of his presence.

"So Pierre," Lester threw his arm around my shoulder. I turned to glare at him. I'd have to remind him tomorrow why my name is Tank. "How do you know these lovely ladies?" Ignoring him I turned back to Stephanie and asked her and Mary Lou to join us. After ordering their margaritas, we all moved to a booth to reconnect.

It turns out that Stephanie did marry the dick, but before their marriage was even final, she caught him cheating on their dining room table. I told her about leaving the army and joining my ranger buddy when he opened his security business. She was impressed to hear that I was running the business while my boss was away and shocked when I told her what kind of jobs that I did. Lester gladly jumped in to tell her about the time that I got knocked unconscious by a druggy, not one of my finer moments.

When I asked Stephanie what she was doing on a Wednesday night at a bar, at 11:30 at night, she told me that she had just been laid off at her job as a lingerie buyer for E.E. Martin and she needed to let off steam.

That was when the brilliant idea came to me.

"Stephanie," I interrupted her angry ranting, "would you like to work for Rangeman?" Both her and Lester's mouths fell open.

"What!" She exclaimed. "I can't do that; I have no idea how to track people down or how to catch bad guys."

"No, no, I wouldn't have you do anything like that, don't worry. We need major help in our distraction department."

"Distraction? What would I be doing?"

"When we get really high class bonds and we have Intel that they will be at a bar or club, we will send in a woman to distract him to leave with her, and once the woman and FTA are out, we grab him without making a scene."

"Don't you already have a woman to help you?"

"We have someone in Miami, but since Trenton is so new, we've had a hard time finding someone. We can't quite advertise it in the papers that we are looking for someone." That got a chuckle out of her.

"I don't know Pierre; wouldn't you rather have a size zero blond, with big boobs?" Lester laughed at this.

"Beautiful, I don't think any guy in here has been able to get his hard on to go away since you walked in here." Stephanie just stared, her mouth hanging open. I reached over and closed it for her.

"How about you just think about it for a while? Rangeman would pay for all of you distraction outfits, which you would be able to pick out. You also would earn 15% of what we get when we bring the FTA in to custody." I put a finger to her lips when she started to interrupt. "Just think about it. You would always be wired and we would have men both inside and outside of the building." She stayed silent for a long time. "How about we meet later this week at Pino's, I remember how much you like their pizza, and you can ask me any questions you might have and then you can give me your answer." I suggested.

She agreed to meet me on Saturday at noon. It was approaching one in the morning and Mary Lou said that she needed to get going home. We all said goodnight and I watched Stephanie hop in Mary Lou's car and drive off. Lester came up next to me and whistled.

"Damn man, you are so luck! That girl is hot!" My hand immediately came up and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Meet me in the gym at 0600."

"Oh man, what'd I do?"

"My name is Tank!" I reminded him of the Pierre incident, with my glare and headed toward my Rangeman SUV. As I drove back to Haywood, all I could think about was Stephanie in her little red dress, and somehow I knew that my life would never be the same.


	2. Chapter 2

I won't be writing a disclaimer for every chapter. So refer to chapter one for the disclaimer. Also thank you all for your reviews!!!

**Stephanie's POV**

It had been two days since I'd gotten reacquainted with Pierre and I was excited to see him again. E.E. Martin had just laid me off and now I was in trouble. I needed a job desperately. My bank account was currently holding $23.33 and the food fairy had yet to visit me. My mom was pushing me to apply for a job at the button factory, but I'd rather starve…which was probably what was going to happen.

I have seriously considered the job that Pierre had offered me and I can't think of any other alternative, other than to accept it. I need money!

I sigh as I hop into my car to head towards Pino's. My life sure has taken a strange turn, but I'll just have to go with the flow. I pull into Pino's and head in. I am immediately greeted by my cop friends and give Eddie and Big Dog a hug before looking around. My eyes are drawn to the back where a dark figure is sitting. Pierre is wearing black cargos and a tight black tee. I smile and head over to take my seat.

"Hey Stephanie, I hope you don't mind, I ordered you a diet and a large pizza to share." I smiled, he remembered me so well. As if by magic, the waitress appears and places the pizza in front of us and hands me my diet.

"So Stephanie, have you thought about my offer?" I sighed, right down to business I see.

"Yes I have and I would like to accept." Pierre beamed.

We set about catching up some more while we ate. I noticed a few times, that Pierre started to fidget and look somewhat uncomfortable.

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**Tank's POV**

Damn. If she doesn't stop moaning over that pizza soon, I'm really going to embarrass myself. I shifted to get more comfortable. When I had gotten back to Haywood early Thursday morning, I had Bobby run a background check on Stephanie. I knew that I could trust her; I only wanted her background because it is part of Rangeman's policy for any new employees, and I knew that Stephanie would take the job. Or at least I had hoped that she would, which she just had.

I wasn't sure how the rest of the team would handle her. I planned to offer her a place to stay in our fourth floor apartments because while looking through her background check, I found out how bad her financial status is. I hope that I can get her to work on searches for the company as well. Right now we are sending all of our stuff to Silvio and he was having a hard time keeping up. I plan to mention all of this sometime during our lunch.

Stephanie had eaten four slices of pizza and was working on her fifth now. I have to wonder when the last time was that she had eaten.

"So." She said, around a mouthful of pizza, making me smile. "Tell me more about this job."

"Well your main job will be to do distractions, but I would also like to see how you do with searches."

"Searches?" Stephanie tried to raise one of her eyebrows and failed miserably.

"When we get a new FTA, we run a search on them to get any background information that may be useful. There is no field work involved so you don't have to worry about that. Also in working for Rangeman, you will be issued a Rangeman car and apartment. Everyone who works there has their own apartment on the fourth floor." She stared, a little shell shocked.

"You mean to tell me that, not only are you offering me a job, but you are also going to give me a car and an apartment too!?"

"Yes, but Stephanie, I am not treating you special because you are my friend. Every Rangeman employee is offered all of this. So…what do you say?" She still looked a little shocked, but she managed a small smile.

"When do I start?" I smiled and clapped my hand down on her shoulder.

"Welcome to the team Stephanie."

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Next up, Stephanie meets the Merry Men!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks everyone for your reviews!! Keep up the support!!

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**Stephanie's POV**

I couldn't help but smile, if this all worked out, I'd actually become a part of something.

"Would you like to go meet the guys?" Pierre asked me.

"Right now?" My eyes bugged out.

"Why not?"

"Will they like me?" I was worried. From what Pierre had told me, the company was all guys. Not only were they all male, but they were all bad ass males. Gulp.

"Stephanie, they will love you. How could they not?"

Pierre took care of the bill while I said goodbye to my police buddies. Pierre led me outside to a big black SUV. He helped me in and then we were off. In only a matter of minutes we were pulling up to a big, seven story building, which was gated off. As Pierre drew near, the gates automatically opened. Pierre nodded towards a camera that I hadn't noticed until then.

He pulled up close to an elevator and we got out. I looked around, only to notice that the garage was full of black vehicles. Most of which were SUVs, but I also noticed that there was a Porsche, a Mercedes-Benz and a truck. All black. Had no one in this company ever heard of another color?

I couldn't stop staring. Pierre started to laugh at me and I gave him my best Burg glare.

"Those are all the boss'. The truck is his favorite." I was finally able to get my tongue to work.

"By the way, who exactly is this boss that you keep mentioning?"

"His name is Ranger." Well that sure didn't tell me a whole hell of a lot now did it?

"Will it be okay to hire me, when he isn't here?" I prayed that the answer would be yes because I didn't have many other options.

"Yes, it will be okay. He left me in charge and he trusts me. Don't worry about it." With that, he led me into the elevator and pressed five.

"Floor one is the lobby where the clients will enter, floor two is the gun range and floor three is the gym. Being a part of Rangeman will require you to work our three hours a week." I made a face at that. "The fourth floor is the apartments that I was telling you about, where you will be staying if you choose to. The fifth floor is where you will be working. It is where all of the offices and the comm. room are. The sixth floor is where Ella, the housekeeper of us all," here he smiled, "and her husband live. Ella is the only other female who works here. She will get you anything that you need. And the seventh floor is the boss' apartment along with some storage rooms." By now the elevator had stopped on five and it opened to a smiling Lester.

"Beautiful!" He came forward and hugged me until I was gasping for breath. Pierre smacked the back of Lester's head, once he had put me down.

"Ow"

"Don't kill the girl before she has even started yet!"

The next hour went by quickly. Pierre introduced me to everyone who was on shift. The core team, Pierre told me where himself, Ranger, Bobby, Lester and Cal. Pierre led me over to an empty cubical.

"And this is where you will be working. Tomorrow I will have Manny show you the basics of our search programs and you will also be able to call Silvio, from our Miami office for further help. Tomorrow you will also have a computer and anything else that you may need all set up."

"Thank you so much Pi-" Pierre's hand covered my mouth and he seemed to blush.

"Uh Stephanie, would you mind calling me Tank? It's what everyone else calls me and if they heard you say my real name, my bad ass reputation may deflate a little."

"Of course." I smiled; I had noticed earlier that everyone had addressed him as Tank.

"Thanks." I nodded.

"But really Pi-Tank. Thank you for all of this. I really appreciate it." Tank nodded.

"Well I had better get you home so that you can start to pack. You can move in whenever you want. Just give me a call and I'll send someone over to help you move everything." Tank handed me his official Rangeman card.

I said goodbye to some of the friendly faces that I remembered and Tank led me back down to the garage. He drove me to Pino's so that I could get my car and he gave me a hug before heading back to his work.

I hopped in my car and headed for home. 'Yes,' I thought, 'Things were definitely looking up.'


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Everyone, to answer some of your reviews, I'd like to update at least one chapter a day, but I have tons of finals in the next week so it may not be like that. Though I will try my hardest. Also i tend to not read stories unless they have at least 10 more reviews per chapter, for example if there are 7 chapters i expect it to have 70 reviews, etc. I'm proud that my story seems to be doing that!! Thanks everyone!**

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**Stephanie's POV**

I had spent all last night packing. Tank had told me that I didn't need to worry about any of my furniture or big appliances; that my new apartment came with everything that I'd need.

I had called my mom last night to let her know about my new job, leaving out the details about what I'd do for distractions. I had to listen to her rant for half an hour about how I should just get a job at the button factory and get married.

Once she was done ranting, I asked to speak to my dad. I explained what was going on and asked him if I could keep my car in his garage. My dad has always supported me in everything that I've done and would continue to support me. My dad agreed and also asked if he could help me move in, so that he knew where I would be living.

I figured it would be okay, but decided to call Tank, just to be sure. Tank said that it was alright, and at seven in the morning, I was being awoken to the smell of coffee. I tiredly got up and headed into the kitchen to see a bag of donuts on my counter and fresh coffee in the pot, my dad reading the newspaper at the kitchen counter.

"Morning Pumpkin"

"Dad? How'd you get in? What are you doing here?"

"I came by to help you move. I figured I'd bring breakfast." He gestured to the donuts. "And I knocked, but when you didn't answer, I figured that you were still asleep."

I walked around the counter and poured myself a cup of coffee and snatched up a donut.

"That still doesn't explain how you got here." I smiled at my dad.

"If I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?" My dad and I had a long standing tradition with that saying. To this day, he would still say that when I ask him how he was able to get all of the presents under the tree on Christmas without waking me, when I was younger. Anytime that I was curious about something, he would say that.

"Come on," my dad finished off his coffee, "let's start loading the cab." I quickly gobbled up one more donut and we started taking boxes down to his car. By eight thirty I was handing my super, Dillon, my keys. I followed my dad back to my parent's house so that I could drop off my car. Then we were on our way.

"You might want to give that guy a call to let him know that we're coming." My dad reminded me. "What's his name again?"

"It's Pierre, I brought him home once in college, remember? Anyways, apparently he is called Tank now."

I don't know if I was imagining it, but I could have sworn that my dad's head jerked at the name. I didn't have long to ponder because at that moment Tank answered the phone.

"Talk" Wow. Nice greeting.

"Hey Tank, it's Steph."

"Stephanie, how can I help you?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm on my way in."

"Thanks, I'll let the comm. room know."

"Okay, thank you."

Dial tone. Huh, so not only does he not know how to greet, he doesn't know how to say goodbye, either.

Great.

Within five minutes we arrived, and like yesterday, the gates automatically opened. When we parked, the elevator doors opened and Lester stepped out, heading over towards us, raising his hand in greeting.

"Good morning Beautiful."

"Morning Lester." I turned towards my dad.

"Dad, this is one of my co-workers, Lester Stantos. Lester this is my dad, Frank." They shook hands.

"I'm here to escort you up to Tank's office and he'll show you to your apartment." I noticed a little smirk to my dad's lips, but didn't question it; I just followed Lester to the elevator, with my dad following.

When we reached five, Lester led us to the boss's office, the one that Tank was currently working from. Lester knocked and entered.

"I'm glad to hear it man. Rest well and we'll see you in two weeks." Tank hung up his call and stood.

"Stephanie." He nodded to me. "Mr. Plum." He shook my dad's hand.

"Dad, this is Tank." My dad got that funny smirk again on his face.

"I've heard a lot about you Tank."

"I hope Stephanie hasn't been telling any stories." Tank turned to smile at me, but I was too busy looking curiously at my dad. I hadn't told him anything about Tank, except for the fact that we went to college together.

"Not Stephanie. Havoc."

I never thought that I would see bad ass army men so stunned. But Lester's and Tank's expressions were comical to say the least.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok so some of you were confused at the end. Stephanie is not Havoc. Frank was telling Tank the Stephanie didn't tell him stories, Havoc did. I hope to update a longer chapter tomorrow cause I won't be studying all night!!

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**Stephanie's POV**

Tank finally found his voice. "You know Havoc Sir.?"

"Yes I do." My dad said with his secretive smirk. "I'm falcon." Tank immediately stood ramrod straight and saluted my dad.

"At ease soldier."

"You're _the _falcon?" Lester asked.

"Yes I am kid, Havoc talks about Ranger, Tank, Stantos and Brown all the time. He is very proud of all four of you. He says that you are the best he's ever trained." Tank stepped forward.

"It is an honor to meet you Sir." He shook my dad's hand.

"Wait, wait, wait! Dad what's going on here? Who's Havoc? And why are you a falcon?" My dad chuckled.

"Can we make this a little more private?" My dad asked Tank.

"Of course Sir. Right this way." Tank led us over to the elevator and while we were waiting for it to arrive, he asked if Bobby could join our conversation. My dad agreed.

"Brown." Bobby came out of his cubical.

"Sir?" Tank jerked his head and Bobby approached. When the elevator arrived, we all squeezed on. Tank pressed four and within seconds we were exiting and arriving at a door with the number six on it. My apartment. Tank unlocked the door and let us in.

"Welcome Stephanie, to Rangeman."

The apartment was not what I had expected. There was a couch and two chairs in the main room, which was connected to the kitchen. The kitchen had a stainless steel refrigerator, a stove, an oven and a microwave. There was a beautiful kitchen counter with three bar stools under it.

A door off of the kitchen led to the bedroom, but I was too curious about my father to investigate any further. I tuned to face the room, full of me, with my hands on my hips.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" My dad went and sat down on the couch, indicating that I should do the same.

"Pumpkin, you know I was in the army. What I never told you was that after I left the army, I joined the Rangers. I was good, real good. I got called on a lot of missions and was eventually given the name Falcon. Havoc was my partner. We made a contract that we would only go on missions if the other was assigned to the same mission. I have been retired for about 25 years now."

I could tell how much my dad had loved being a Ranger; by the way his face had lit up when he was telling me.

"Why'd you retire?"

"I had a family. I couldn't get out of it right away, but when I was to resign my contract, I decided not to. You had just turned five and I had missed your birthday because I had been on a mission."

"What happened to Havoc?"

"He retired with me. You know him."

"I do? Who is it?"

"Mike."

"Uncle Mike?!"

"Remember how I'd always go hunting with him and sometimes I'd be gone for months?" I nodded. I remembered how mad I used to get when my dad would leave me to go hunting with Uncle Mike.

"Well instead of hunting wildlife, we were hunting a different type of _animal_, on our missions." I took a moment to process that.

"Is this what you guys do?" I turned to Bobby, Lester and Tank. It was Tank who answered.

"Yeah, we are all signed up to go on missions when the government needs us. That's what Ranger is doing right now. He's—"

"In the wind." My dad finished. Tank nodded. "That's what my wife used to call it."

"Wait, mom knows about all of this?"

"Of course she does, I told her before we got married." This was a lot to process.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"The world and life of a Ranger was not something that I wanted my baby girl to know about."


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the wait. By the way I reread my story and found a mistake. When Steph learned the layout of Rangeman I meant to make it that the second floor is the interagation rooms and the third floor has the gun range AND gym. Thanks

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Stephanie's POV

One week later

This past week had been amazing! I had easily fallen into a routine here at Rangeman. I would wake up every day at six and go work out in the gym for an hour. I would have never believed it, but I was actually enjoying working out. By seven I would go into the locker room to shower and get ready for the day. The guys decided that when I was occupying the locker room, I was to put my ponytail on the doorknob of the locker room door so that they would not enter. When eight rolled around I'd be at my desk, running searches.

Manny had taught me a little about searching for people, but I seemed to have a knack for it. It also helped that a lot of the skips had relatives in the Berg, so I was able to get the scoop on them easier. During my lunch break I would normally eat with Lester, Bobby and Tank, unless one of them was out on a call. They loved to tell me stories about the amazing things that my dad had done.

By five, I was turning off my search engines and I head down to four to watch some tapes that Tank had given me of previous distractions. Most of the tapes looked like they came from the surveillance cameras of the bar or club that they were at. The woman who had done the distractions name was Jeanne Ellen and she was good, really good. She was able to get most of her targets out, without a scene. For my amusement, Tank had slipped in a few tapes of gay skips, in which Lester had to distract.

The more I watched the tapes, the more excited I got to actually do a distraction. My first distraction was scheduled for later tonight. Our guy, Tony Denardo, would be showing up at ten o'clock at the Tiki Tavern. I would go in, get my man and get out. Bobby was going to be the bartender, Lester would be a patron and Tank, Cal and Manny would all be waiting outside to make the apprehension. If this went successfully, I'd be earning $5,250. This FTA was worth $35,000 for charges of first degree rape and attempted man slaughter.

I wasn't too worried about this guy; I knew that the guys would keep me safe. I glanced at the clock, "Crap". It was already seven and we had to leave by nine. I quickly jumped into the shower and beautified myself. I shaved to within an inch of my life and used my special shine conditioner. Once I was out I quickly dried off and put on my matching sheer black strapless bra and panty set. I put Mr. Alexander's magic cream in my hair and towel dried it.

I pinned my hair half up with a few curly strands hanging down. For once my hair actually cooperated. I started on my makeup and decided to go with a natural look. Despite the name of this tavern, it was actually a fairly classy place. I put on three extra coats of mascara for extra luck. After dabbing my perfume, pink, behind my ears, on my neck and wrists, I set about getting dressed. I had gone shopping yesterday with a Rangeman credit card for my distraction outfit. Since Tank told me that this was a nicer place, I bought an off the shoulder black cocktail dress that came about four inches above my knees. I carefully stepped into my dress and shimmied it up my body. I slipped on blood red FMPs and grabbed my red handbag. Back in the bathroom, I applied crimson lipstick.

I looked at the clock, 8:50. I quickly put my lipstick, cover up, cell phone and $20 into my handbag and did a double check of everything. I was to meet the guys in the garage at nine so I hastily put a carrot in rex's cage, whispered, "Wish mommy luck," and ran to my door. I opened my door to a surprise; Tank, Lester, Bobby, Cal and Manny were all standing in the hall. When they heard me exit, they all turned my way and their mouths dropped open, in unison. It was actually quite comical.

I tried to raise an eyebrow, "Gentlemen?"

"Beautiful, you are gorgeous!" Lester came forward and squished me in a hug, lifting me in the air and giving me a little twirl.

"Thank you." He set me down next to Tank.

"You ready for this Stephanie?" Tank asked looking serious, "This Denardo guy is rough. He's wanted for first degree rape and attempted man slaughter." He gave me a calculating look. The past three days, Tank had spent hours teaching me hand to hand combat and different ways to break out of a common hold.

"I'm ready. Let's go get this sicko." Lester burst out laughing.

"Beautiful, do you realize how ruined our reputation would be if we were to describe a skip as a sicko?" He smiled, letting me know that he found me amusing.

"Let's head out." Tank barked, slapping Lester on the back of the head, on the way to the elevator.

Once in the garage we all loaded into an SUV and headed toward the tavern. We arrived a little after 9:45 and took note that our skips car was in the lot. Tank gave his men a look and they lumbered out to get into position. Tank turned to me and gave me a mic and transmitter. Normally, under circumstances like this I'd be blushing, but I knew that there were no romantic feelings between Tank and I and most likely there never would be. Tank averted his eyes and I quickly slipped them under my shirt and taped them beneath my left breast.

"Be careful"

"Thanks Tank. Don't worry, we'll get our guy. And I know you've got my back." I hoped out of the SUV and sauntered over to the Tavern.

I opened the door and stepped in, letting my eyes adjust to the lighting. I did a quick, nonchalant scan of my surroundings and saw Lester playing pool and Bobby serving drinks. My skip was sitting at the bar, nursing a corona. I walked over, swaying my hips slightly and sat two seats away from him. Bobby came over and asked what I wanted.

"I'll have what he's having." I said, indicating to Tony, who at that moment was staring at me. Bobby nodded and went to get my drink. He had been given an order that whatever I ordered was to be watered down. I smiled and nodded to my skip, accepting his gesture to sit on the seat next to him.

"So what is a beautiful lady such as yourself, doing here, on a Friday night, all alone?" He gave me a sickeningly sweet smile that made my skin cover in goose bumps.

"I just got fired today and I just want to forget everything that happened." I accepted my drink from Bobby and took a sip, coughing around the taste of beer and water mixed together, making my skip believe that I couldn't hold my alcohol. Which I couldn't, but that's a moot point. Denardo's smile got wider as I finished my drink. He gave Bobby a nod and another Corona was handed to me. I smiled my thanks to Denardo and nursed it.

"You know, your day may have been ruined, but I bet I can improve your night." I smiled as sweetly as I could, grimacing on the inside, "Could you now?" His smile was almost sinister. He held out his hand.

"Then let's go, shall we?" I stood up and grabbed him, pretending to be tipsy. I saw out of the corner of my eye, Lester exiting the tavern, getting ready for the capture. The skip grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the door. What I had not planned on was that the second we stepped outside, Denardo swung me around so that I was facing him and he slammed his lips against mine, holding my head still with one of his hands, while his other grabbed my butt, squeezing painfully. I quickly stomped my three inch heel on his foot and brought my knee up to his happy place. Denardo bent over, falling to the ground in pain. I looked up to see the guys stunned faces. I just shrugged and marched over to the SUV. Lester jogged up next to me as I heard Tank cuff and state to Denardo that he missed his court date.

"You ok beautiful?"

"Yeah, though if he gets near me again, I will do more damage than I did tonight." I could swear that I saw Lester cringe and mutter, "Remind me never to piss you off." Lester opened the passenger door and helped me in, while Tank 'helped' Denardo into another waiting SUV. After talking with the men for a minute, Tank came to our SUV and hoped in, turning to me. I held up my hand before he could say anything.

"I'm fine, I promise. I'm pretty sure I hurt him more than he did me." Tank smirked at me.

"I do believe you did Steph." He started the engine and we headed back to Haywood. Once back in my room, I took a shower to erase any thoughts of that slimeball. I quickly dried off and fell face first onto my bed, planning not to wake up for a couple of years.

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Well there it is, I hope you like it. Next chapter Steph and Ranger meet…and Steph is naked  Also is mic spelled like mike or mic?? Cause I'll use that word throughout this story. Please review!!!


	7. Chapter 7

Tank's POV

,',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','

Boss man called last night not even ten minutes after we had gotten back to Haywood, and informed me that he would be flying in in two hours. Thank God his mission was successful. Two hours later, I found myself at the airport waiting for my best friend. I immediately saw him get off and scan his surroundings. When he spotted me and approached, I assessed his health. He had clearly lost 15-20 pounds and had a few scrapes and bruises, but no broken bones that I could tell. I gave him a slight nod and headed with him towards the exit. Once we were securely in the SUV I started the routine talk.

"Mission?"

"Successful"

"Health?"

"Only need a Band-Aid." I smiled at his little joke.

"I'm glad you're safe man." Ranger gave a silent nod. We had always had an unspoken rule that I won't brief him on how the business has been until he has had time to rest. All of Rangemen, Steph excluded, knew how hard missions were on your body and mental state. Ranger always took the most difficult missions.

Crap, Stephanie—Ranger doesn't even know that we hired her. Well, he did leave me in charge, and she totally got her man last night, hook, line and sinker. I smirked, I wasn't going to tell him, I wanted to see how things played out. A lot of the men and I think that Steph would be perfect for the boss.

We arrived at Haywood and Lester, Bobby and Cal all shook Ranger's hand and congratulated him on making it back. No other words were said, they all knew that he needed silence and rest. Ranger headed to seven while the rest of us trudged up to four. The next couple of days were going to be interesting.

,',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','

Steph's POV

I knew even before I opened my eyes that my hair was going to be scary, I had gone to bed with it wet. Groaning I looked at the clock, it was eight. I knew that I should get up and do my work out, but my bed was just so comfortable. After ten minutes of internal debate, I rolled out of bed and changed into my work out cloths, and headed for the gym.

I started my workout with a two mile run, hey; I am slowly working up to five miles. Once I was sweating like a pig, I slowed down to a walk and walked another mile on the treadmill. Next I did a few weighs and some sit ups. By now it was nine so I headed to the locker room. At my start of working at Rangemen, it was decided that I would hang my scrunchy on the doorknob of the locker room, so that the guys knew not to come in.

I quickly stripped and turned the shower onto warm. Once steam started to roll around I stepped under the spray. I just stood there, letting my muscles relax under the spray. I lathered my hair in my strawberry herbal essence shampoo and conditioner. As I was rinsing my hair, I saw somebody's body wash on the wall that separated the rest of the locker room and the shower. I glanced around, even though I knew that no one would be in here and snatched it up.

"Bulgari" I popped it open and took a sniff. This was the best smelling thing that I've ever smelt! I quickly squirted some onto my loofah sponge and slathered my body in heaven. I let the smell permeate the air, this was the most amazing smell ever, though I couldn't for the life of me remember smelling this on any of the other men before.

"Mmm, God I think I'll die happy."

"Glad to know you like my shower gel Babe." I shrieked and lunged for my towel. I whipped around, holding my towel to my front, staring at the intruder. _Holy hell he's Adonis._

"Babe?" Shit, I must have said that aloud. I did tend to have that problem. I looked over my intruder; he was a sexy Cuban man, no doubt about it. Early thirties, dark hair and eyes that were boring into mine. Yup, definitely Rangeman material.

"Who are you? How'd you get in here?" The man just raised his eyebrows at me.

"Babe."

"Don't Babe me, how'd you get in here?" His lips quirked up at the corners.

"Through the door."

"Who are you?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" At that moment the door burst open and Tank stormed in. I immediately saw the man tense up, his eyes going cold and every muscle in his body bulge, ready to fight. He looked like a man getting ready to fight…to kill…

"Rangeman." Tank barked, slowly edging closer to us, his hands spread out, showing that he was no threat to us.

"Rangeman, why don't we go back to your room huh? Up on seven remember? I'll send Bobby up okay?" This man had still not looked away from me, he was still as stiff as when Tank had entered, but his cold eyes flashed fleetingly with something like anguish when Tank was talking, before his blank face slammed back on. He barely turned his head, his eyes still on me, gave a curt nod and exited the locker room. Tank quickly came to me.

"Steph are you okay? He didn't hurt you did he?" I slowly shook my head and cleared my throat.

"What happened to him?"

"What do you mean?"

"He was in so much pain."

"WHAT!"

"It was in his eyes, only for a second, but it was definitely there." Tank snapped open his phone.

,',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',

**Ok sorry this was sort and ended abruptly, i'm super tired. I'll update soon. Steph finally met Ranger!!**


	8. Chapter 8

I am so sorry that it has taken me forever to update, no excuse. Here is the next chapter and as you read it I will be typing up the next one!! Thanks everone who has stuck with me. I read all of your reviews last night and knew that I needed to post this right away!

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"Brown. Go up to seven. Knock him out and check him over. Take Stantos, he's unstable." Tank snapped the phone shut.

"Who was he? What happened to him?" Tank heaved a sigh.

"Get dressed and come on up to my office." I blushed, just now remembering that I was only clutching a towel to my chest. After Tank left, I quickly got dressed into my Rangeman uniform and put my hair in a messy bun. I wanted answers, I couldn't get the man's look of anguish out of my mind, so I took the stairs to five, too impatient to wait for the elevator. Tank's door was open so I walked in, closing it behind me and sitting on one of his chairs.

"Steph, the man you saw down there was Carlos Manoso, a.k.a. Ranger, the owner of Rangeman." My mouth dropped open. "As you know, he was on a mission recently, he got home late last night." Tank was silent for a minute, just staring at me. "These missions that we all go on are hard on us both mentally and physically. Ranger is the best, he goes on the most dangerous and most difficult missions. If we are lucky enough to survive, the next challenge is to get back into the mode of civilian life."

"Civilian life?"

"Steph, imagine being dropped in the middle of nowhere, with a limited supply of food, water and ammo. You are all alone for weeks, no one to talk to and if anyone sees you they will kill you. Imagine that," Tanks eyes were boring into me, "and then trying to come back here. Your body is still on high alert, it's hard to decifer who is friend and who is foe. One wrong move and you flashback to the jungle fighting for your life, when in reality you could very well be fighting your brother." He let that sink in for a moment. "For professionals like us, it takes only a few days to get back to normal."

I nodded, trying to comprehend everything that he had said.

"To be honest, I am beyond surprised that he didn't hurt you." Tank was staring off, his mind elsewhere. "You saw how he tensed when I came in."

I nodded. "I have known him for twelve years now, we are closer than brothers, but at that moment I was a potential enemy. Did you see how he protected you?"

"What! Protected me? What are you talking about?"

"When I came in he kept himself between you and me. His body stance and position screamed that he was going to protect you from me; even though he's known me for years and he's never met you before."

"I'm sorry."

"No! Don't be, I think you will be real good for Ranger."

"What do you mean?" Tank just smirked at me.

"Why don't you get back to work. By the way, how does a distraction sound for tomorrow? Tank slid a file across the desk to me, I nodded and headed back to my cubical, starting the pile of searches that I had in my inbox. I looked over the file that Tank had handed me.

"Shit!" It was Joseph Morelli.


	9. Chapter 9

Joseph Morelli was wanted for suspected murder. He was a cop and said to be armed and maybe dangerous. An email that Tank just sent told everyone that we had a meeting at one to discuss the distraction. I spent the day going over my searches, making notes and highlighting things that set off my Spidey Sense as Lester liked to call it. By the time one o'clock came around, I had finished all of my searches and had looked into Morelli's murder case. My gut told me that he was innocent, but my only job was to help capture him, not prove him innocent. I went into conference room C and sat down at the table. A minute later the rest of Rangeman and Tank entered.

"Our skip tomorrow night is Joseph Morelli, he is a cop from the TPD and his bond is $35,000. This is small for Rangemen, but a bad cop on the street is not good for anybody." Tank passed a file to every man around the table. "He is armed with at least his service weapon, maybe more. He is charged with suspected murder. An inside source, the bartender from Joe's, ironically enough, has told us that Morelli has been there the past three nights from nine to midnight. Stephanie has agreed to do the distraction; Cal you and Hal will be outside with me, Lester you'll be inside."

I indicated to Tank that I had something to say.

"Steph." I stood.

"I know Morelli. We grew up together."

"Will this be a problem for you?"

"Hell no! In fact if you guys could make him fall down a few times between the bar and the station, I'd feel a whole lot better." I said with a smirk. Lester smiled back.

"Gladly beautiful."

"Also so you know, he has a bad right leg. That'll be an easy way to take him out."

"Bad leg?" Tank questioned.

"Let's just say that it was broken by a Buick." I smiled evily.

"Remind me never to piss you off Beautiful." Lester gulped, uneasily. The guys all chuckled and I could see Tank fighting a smile.

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Ranger's POV

I slowly came awake, but didn't open my eyes, trying to take stock of my surroundings, I could hear someone moving around in my living room. I remember Bobby had given me something, something that knocked me out good. I quietly sat up and looked around me. The person in my living room was making too much noise to be sneaking around. More than likely it was one of my men.

I'm not cautious for nothing though. I grab my gun that had been placed on my nightstand and make sure it's loaded. I open my bedroom door to find Tank sitting at my kitchen table making coffee and going through a file. He looked up as I entered and gave me a nod, turning back to the file. I joined him and he handed me a cup of coffee.

"You drugged me." I stated.

"You were a danger to Steph."

"Steph?" A memory of a naked woman in the locker room flashed in my mind.

"Stephanie Plum. Rangeman's newest employee."

"She works here?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she does distractions for us and searches. She has a great knack for finding hidden things in searches. The men call it her Spidey Sense, she just knows when something is not right."

I nodded and we were silent, something Tank had said bothered me.

"I wasn't a threat to her."

"What?"

"I wasn't going to hurt her when I walked in on her in the locker room." Silence fell between us. "When I saw her there, total peace fell on me. Nothing else mattered; I didn't feel any of my injuries or exhaustion." I looked at Tank. "You probably think I'm crazy."

"No man, when we saw on the monitors that you had gone into the showers after Steph, I thought for sure she was in trouble. But when I got down there, I saw right away that you were protecting her from me." Tank had a small smile playing on his lips.

I just stared at Tank for a minute.

"Does she know the rule about no employees dating other employees?"

"We don't have that rule." Tank said suspiciously.

"It will have to be made then, now that we have a female working here." Ranger stated, no emotion showing on his face.

"Rangeman Miami doesn't have that rule, and Jeanne Ellen works there." Tank had a full blown smile on his face now.

"Well fuck Tank, I'm the boss and I get to make the rules. Make sure the guys know this," Ranger paused, "Stephanie doesn't need to know about the rule yet." Tank nodded.

"I'll send an email out today. Does this rule apply to you as well?"

Ranger was silent for such a long time that Tank thought he wouldn't answer. Ranger's eyes finally met Tank's and he opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by someone knocking on the door.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Hey guys, I am back at school now, I have been for a month. I will continue to try to update. I am taking really hard classes this quarter so I may only be able to update on the weekends. Thanks for reading!!**

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Tank heaved himself up and went to answer the door. A second later he reentered the kitchen with Bobby. I could tell from the expression on his face that he was in medic mode.

"How you feeling man?" And the inquisition began.

"You drugged me." I gave him a dead stare.

"I was following your orders. You put Tank in charge when you leave and he gave me an order to knock you out, so I did." I stared a minute longer before nodding. Bobby sat down next to me and grabbed my wrist, checking my pulse. After he did all of his doctor checking crap, he told me exactly what I already knew. All I needed was some rest.

Bobby sat down and had a cup of coffee with us. He noticed the file on the counter and indicated to it with his head.

"This one is sure to be interesting," Bobby was looking at Tank, who just nodded, glancing in my direction. "What do you think he did to piss her off?"

Tank shrugged, "No idea, but I'd hate to have her mad at me. She can be a vicious little thing."

"Vicious, no way. She's too nice." Tank snorted into his coffee.

"Dude, when we were in college, if any of the girls on her dorm floor came home drunk, she called me and a few of the guys and we would duck tape them upside down, to the wall." By this time Bobby was full on laughing. I finally spoke.

"You talking about the new recruit?"

"Yeah." Bobby said, smile on his face. "I cannot wait for you to meet her. She's awesome. Not once has she been afraid of us. And damn, to see her in a distraction outfit—"

"The rule that employees cannot date is now being enforced. You'd be wise to remember it!" I growled. Bobby stopped dead, staring at Ranger.

"But Rangeman, we've already set the date for the wedding. It's the first Saturday of next month."

"WHAT!" I barked, practically leaping out of my seat.

"Man, calm down, he is just playing you." Tank said, glaring at Bobby, "He seems to have forgotten that you need to rest." I let Tank push me back down into my seat, ignoring the dull throb from the wound on my stomach.

"Sorry man," Bobby looked grim, "I was just playing. Nobody is dating her. Though I can tell you with certainty that everyone in this building are lining up to be with her." I huffed in frustration. I couldn't imagine anyone with my Babe unless it was me.

"Does this new rule include you then? Cause man, if you aren't wanting her then we should be able to have our own chance with her." I stared at Bobby, then Tank.

"Of course the rule doesn't apply to me. I'm not an employee."

"You're an employee of the government." Bobby challenged.

"The government doesn't have a rule about dating coworkers." I challenged right back. I'm not entirely sure why I am being so severe about this. I had only seen the woman once, for not even five minutes. But my gut was screaming at the thought of not being with her, of someone taking her from me. Somehow our souls were connected, I could feel it the second I walked into the locker room. A tingle had gone up my spine. I was aware of her, in more ways than one.

Bobby took a long hard stare at me. "Be serious about her man. Every man here is half in love with her already and will lose all respect for you if you mistreat her." I gave him a silent nod.

Bobby stood and pulled a bottle of pills out of his pocket. "Take two of these every four hours for a week. Now don't argue with me." I had just opened my mouth to do just that. "All they are are antibiotics to make sure you don't get an infection. That is one nasty cut you have on your torso."

"It's just a scratch."

Bobby rolled his eyes at me before turning to speak with Tank, "Stephanie has gone to get an outfit for tomorrow." Tank just nodded his head. Bobby took his leave and once again, all was quiet.

"Tell me more about her. What do you know?" I asked, cursing myself for the pleading I heard in my voice.

"We met in college. She was majoring in business and as beautiful as ever. At the time she was dating a guy who was going to school for law. I heard she ended up marrying him." The anger inside of me boiled at the surface, begging to burst out. "But she divorced him before the ink was dried on the marriage certificate."

I quirked a brow at him, silently telling him that he would not like it if I had to ask him.

"He was cheating on her. Then right before I met up with her again, she was a lingerie buyer for E.E. Martin." I nodded, smiling internally at the thought of her modeling all of the lingerie that she would buy. But I still wasn't satisfied, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything and that confused the hell out of me. I had never wanted to know any woman like I did my Babe.

"And guess what man. You'll never believe who her dad is."

"Mr. Plum" I replied cockily.

"Falcon." I had to school my thoughts so that I didn't show my absolute surprise at that on my face. Try as I might though, I was unable to keep my coffee mug from shaking slightly in my hand.

"Falcon." I gasped in disbelief, "No shit."

Tank nodded.

"I want to go to the distraction tomorrow." I stated. Tank's head jerked up to meet my gaze.

"Rangeman, you should take a week off. You need to take a week off. A crowded bar is not a place for you right now."

"I'll sit in the car if I have to, but I AM going." Tank was silent for a long time, considering me.

"Fine man, but I am still in charge of this one. And you will wait in the car." I nodded my agreement. We were silent for a long time, content with sipping our coffee.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Sorry this is so late guys, I know how patient you all have been. Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews. Without further adu, here is the next chapter. Hope you like it.**

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**Steph's POV**

Mary Lou and I were out shopping for my new outfit for tomorrow night's distraction. "So he came back?" Mary Lou asked. We were currently looking at dresses and I had told her about meeting my boss. "And the first time he sees you, you're naked?" I just nodded in silent agreement.

"Steph," I looked up at her, "What's wrong Hun?"

"I don't know how to explain it Lou, before I even knew that he was there, my body knew that he was, I felt him."

"That's not unheard of when someone is staring at you. And with you being naked, I can guarantee that he was staring at you."

"But it wasn't that, I'm not sure that I can even explain it. This…tingle went up my back."" We were silent for a while, before I spoke in a whisper. "He's in pain Lou, in real pain."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, physically he's doing well, or at least that is what Tank said," Thinking about his physical looks made me go hot all over and I had to tell myself not to blush, "but there is something in his eyes. Something that is haunting him. And it's causing him real pain Lou, a lot of agony. Just looking into his eyes makes my chest hurt. Like he is screaming and nobody but me can hear him."

"Well, maybe you should just try talking to him. Maybe all he needs is a woman's touch." Mare said with a secretive smile on her face.

"Mare," I hit her arm lovingly, "I think what he needs right now is rest and comfort."

"Well I'm sure his bed can give him the first one and you and in his bed can give him the second."

"Mare!" I turned away to hide my smile. How I would love to be the one that he seeks for comfort."What do you think of this?" I held up a halter, drop dead gorgeous red dress that had no back and dipped down low between my breasts. This definitely had to be my dress; I knew Morelli loved red on any woman and that he would know that I would have to be going braless to wear this. He wouldn't be able to resist me. I have to admit that I was doing this distraction more for my benefit than for Rangeman's. I would so do this even if I wasn't getting paid. This was all revenge for me.

Mare and I paid for our purchases, me with my new Rangeman credit card. We headed for the shoe section of Macy's. I immediately found a pair of black FMP's that had lace, wrapping up my calves. I knew I'd look hot tonight! In the makeup department I chose a lipstick named _Insatiable_, a deep red kiss me color. I was all set to kick ass tomorrow night.

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**Steph's POV (day of distraction)**

A knock at my door brought me out of my fantasy of my Carlos kissing all my new lipstick off of me. I shook my head, hating that I was probably blushing like mad right now. I quickly checked my appearance in the mirror to make sure that everything was as it was supposed to be. As I answered the door, Lester's mouth dropped open, making his face comical. I was laughing so hard that tears were forming in my eyes. Thank God for water proof mascara.

"You ok there Lester? Cat got your tongue?"

"Beautiful…wow—ah, you look gorgeous." His eyes were fixated on my legs.

"Lester," he looked at me, "Thank you."

"What for beautiful?"

"For making me feel beautiful."Lester's face softened.

"Anytime beautiful, anytime." He slung his arm around my shoulders and closed my door, leading me down the hall towards the elevator. As the elevator started to descend, the further it went down, the more I got a tingling feeling in my neck. When the doors opened, it was so intense that I had to put my hand on the back of my neck and rub it.

"You ok beautiful?" I had to think about that for a minute, this wasn't a feeling of malevolence; it was a feeling of protection, security. I nodded to Lester. He put his hand behind my back and led me to the waiting black S.U.V.

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**Ranger's POV**

I knew by the tingle in my neck that she was coming down. The anticipation of seeing her hurt more than my chest wound did. When the elevator doors dinged open, all of my breath left me in a rush. She was breathtaking. She wore a halter dress that was deep red and did crazy things to my head. It dipped down way past her breasts and I could tell that there was no back on it. The dress ended an inch above her knees and she wore amazing black high heels that had fabric wrapping up her legs.

An image of me untying those shoes with my teeth flashed before my eyes and I was instantly hard. Her hand came up to her neck to rub the back of it and I wondered if she could feel my presence like I could hers. I nearly chocked as the fabric of her dress was pulled tight against her nibbles, every curve of hers was outlined. As she made her way over to the S.U.V., I noticed that Lester's hand was on her lower back. Instant rage overtook me and I had to close my eyes to regain what little control I had left. After a few calming breaths I heard the door handle get pulled and I opened my eyes to look at her.


	12. Chapter 12

Here is another chapter guys!! I have no labs this week and only 1 test so i am going to try extra hard to add some more chapters before i get swamped again!! Thanks for all of the great reviews! Here is the long awaited distraction!!!

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Steph's POV

Lester opened the door for me and helped me in. It wasn't until I was situated and buckled in that I looked at the person sitting next to me. I had expected it to be Cal or Hal or one of the other Merrymen that was going to be working with me tonight. But the shock of my life was to find two intense black eyes looking at me. Carlos Manoso was sitting next to me, starring straight into my eyes, trying to read something in them. Whatever he was looking for he must have found, for he gave a soft smile and held out his hand for me. Time seemed to stop, all around me everything disappeared; all that was left was Ranger, his hand and me.

Slowly, as if I had no control over myself, I reached out and took his hand. Our reverie was broken by a clearing of a throat. I quickly looked over to find Tank trying to hide a smile as he started the S.U.V. Somehow, neither of us had realized when Lester entered the car; because he was now sitting in the passenger seat. I tried to inconspicuously pull my hand away while Tank put the car in gear and exited the building, but Carlos was having none of it and only held on tighter. He placed our entwined hands on his thigh and rubbed his thumb over my wrist. I could feel him starring at me, but I did not have the courage to look back. In all of my life, I have never felt the connection that we just shared with any other man. It was electrifying.

All too soon we were in the parking lot of Joe's and Tank was turning the engine off. Tank nodded and Lester quickly hopped out, joining the men from the other S.U.V. Tank had explained to me that they always brought more than one S.U.V. so that the skip would not know that I was in on the take down. Tank turned around and handed me the mic and transmitter, then gave a pointed look and a raised eyebrow at Carlos that even I could interpret the meaning of. It clearly said 'get the fuck out of here so that she can wire herself'. I looked at Carlos in time to see determination in his eyes as he reached for the door handle. I saw the flash of pain as he tried to heave himself out and remembered something.

"Wait!" Both men looked at me, but I was only paying attention to Carlos' eyes, looking for the truth. "You're injured aren't you?"

He just looked at me, but I could see it in his eyes. I looked at tank, "its fine, he can stay." Tank looked at me for a moment before nodding, and hopping out of the car himself, closing the door behind him.

Silence surrounded us as I slowly raised my eyes to meet Carlos'. Keeping eye contact with him, almost daring him to look, I slowly slipped the mic under my left breast and taped it down. I could swear that I saw him swallow. When I was done, he reached out and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. He clasped my hand and brought it to his lips, placing a light kiss on the inside of my wrist.

"Be careful Babe." I nodded and forced myself to let go of his hand and leave the car.

When I looked around at the guys, they all avoided my eyes. I could tell that they had all heard what Carlos had said to me over the mic. I held my chin high, forcing myself to not blush and entered the bar. I did a quick survey of my surroundings and saw that Cal was our bartender for the night, Lester was leaning against a wall in a dark corner and the bain of my existence was playing pool.

I walked over to the bar and ordered vodka on the rocks, which Cal gave me as ice water with a lime wedge. All of the Merrymen knew not to give me real alcohol. I sat there sipping my vodka, trying to think of the best way to get Morelli's attention when an idea popped into my head. I quickly whispered it into my mic and saw Lester not his head and start to head my way. I grabbed my drink and headed toward Morelli. I 'accidentally' bumped into him, spilling half of my drink onto him.

"What the he—" He jerked around.

"Oh God, I am so sorry." I said grabbing a bunch of napkin, trying to pat his shirt dry.

"Stephanie?!" I looked up, feigning surprise.

"Joe? Oh gosh, I am so sorry about this, are you okay?" He blinked a couple of times in reply.

"Yeah—how are you, I haven't seen you around much."

"I'm good, just had an interview at the button factory today and I think it went well, so I am celebrating." I mentally rolled my eyes at how easy this was going to be.

"Really?" Joe said with great surprise.

"A surprise, right? Yeah, I figured it was time for me to settle down soon, start a family and all that jazz."

"What brought this all on?"

"I just got out of a very bad relationship and realized that I wanted—"

"STEPHANIE!" A 'very' drunk Lester came staggering over towards me and I jumped.

"Oh God." I moaned.

"What's the matter?" Morelli asked, immediately going on his guard.

"He was my bad relationship. He didn't take it well when I ended it." I tried to make myself look small as Lester advanced.

"Hey there Buddy," Morelli put a hand to Lester's chest to stop his approach. "I think the girl wants to be left alone." Lester pretended to stagger.

"She is just a two faced whore who—"

"I will only ask you once to not talk to her like that." Joe demanded.

"Fuckoff." Lester tured to me, "I'll find you later." And he walked off, leaving the bar to await the capture outside.

Joe turned to me, "You okay?" I started to nod, then shook my head, shaking slightly to show that I was scared. "How about I make sure you get home safely," he suggested, leading me to the door. I nodded my head and slowly looked up at him, making tears form in my eyes.

"Thank you, I'm sorry that I ruined your evening."

"Hey it's no problem. How about you make dinner for us tomorrow night and we will call it even?" I had to hold my gag in, like I would ever cook for this ass.

As we exited the building, Lester, Hal and Tank came forward and I felt Morelli stiffen. He had obviously seen them too. He bent down to my ear and whispered "Trust me" before jerking me in front of him and putting a gun to my head. "Not one more step gentlemen, you don't want to see the lady get hurt do you?" My eyes widened. He could not be serious, could he? Lester, Tank and Hal all froze.

Joe slowly dragged us backwards toward where I assumed his car was parked. When we were a couple of feet away, two things happened at once. With all my might I stomped my high heel into his foot, at the same time his hand holding the gun was ripped away from me and he was jerked off his feet. I spun around to see Carlos throw Joe against his truck and throw his fist into Joe's face, easily breaking his nose. Within seconds, Tank and Hal pulled Carlos off of Joe and Lester made sure I was alright.

When I nodded he hauled an unconscious Joe into an S.U.V. and took off towards the police station. Tank was still holding Carlos' arms behind his back, quietly talking to him. Carlos nodded and Tank let go of him. He looked at me and started to come forward, but fell to his knees. He put his hand to his chest and it came away, stained a deep red. He looked at it for a second before falling completely over, unconscious.

"Carlos!"

"Ranger!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone, here is the next chapter, sorry it took a while, I think until the end of the school year, my goal will be to update 2-3 chapters a week, most likely on the weekends. I hope you enjoy, please review.**

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**Tank's POV**

Dammit, I knew that he shouldn't have come. I told him to stay in the car. Of course, I could not blame him. The second that Morelli had pulled a gun on Steph, I knew he wouldn't follow my orders. When I pulled Ranger off of Morelli, he kept trying to pummel him, even though I could feel his energy leaving him. When he collapsed I don't know who I was more worried about, Ranger, or Stephanie. As he went down, she went down, screaming his name. Hal was already on the phone talking to the ambulance and I went to work, assessing the damage. I tore his shirt off and saw his blood soaked bandages. I carefully pulled them away and cursed. I needed to get his bleeding to stop, his wound had reopened. I tore off my shirt and pressed it hard to his chest, applying pressure. His groan of pain snapped Stephanie out of her stupor and she rushed over, grabbing his hand, using her other hand to run through his hair and on his face.

"Carlos…Carlos can you hear me?" As the sirens got closer, he started to come to.

"Babe." He groaned out.

"I'm here—"

"You…okay?" Stephanie tried to keep the tears out of her eyes as he struggled to speak.

"I'm fine, you saved me."

"Had to…Babe…couldn't…let you…hurt." I could tell that he was using all of his reserves to stay conscious, and he was failing.

"Carlos, look at me. Stay awake. I need you, please don't die." But he had already passed out again. The ambulance careened to a stop and two EMT's rushed over to us. I let them take over and pulled Steph over to me, hugging her.

"Tank…he—he."

"He'll be fine Steph, I not sure anything in this world could take him away from you." She hiccupped and looked at me, hope in her eyes.

"Tank?" I smiled at her.

"You cannot be so blind as to not have noticed how he feels about you." Steph blinked away tears and looked back at Ranger as he was lifted into the ambulance.

"I am going with him!" Steph ran forward before they could close the doors.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, but only kin is allowed to go." What came out of her mouth next stunned me beyond words.

"I am his wife." Steph said with declaration. The EMT looked at me for confirmation; I nodded before running to the SUV so I could follow the ambulance

',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',','',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',

**Steph's POV**

I quickly hopped into the ambulance and sat down, holding Carlos' hand. "Carlos, you had better wake up. I just met you and I don't want to lose you yet. Ever. I don't know how to explain it, but since the moment I first saw you in the locker rooms, I knew that you were meant to be in my life..." I laid my head down beside his body and did something that I hadn't done in years. I prayed.

I felt the ambulance screech to a halt and the doors were immediately opened. Carlos was whisked away, out of my reach. I quickly ran after him, Tank running up from behind me. A nurse rushed over and attached an IV to his arm and an oxygen mask around his face. More wires were stuck into and on him, making machines beep.

"Mrs. Manoso…Mrs. Manoso." Tank nudged me.

"Sorry, what?" I looked at the nurse, trying to stay focused.

"Mrs. Manoso, we need some information from you about your husband."

"Perhaps Ma'am, I can answer your questions, I think it best that we have Mrs. Manoso sit down." Tank stepped forward. The nurse looked at me and I gave my consent, letting Bobby guide me to a seat. I could hear the nurse ask Tank all types of questions, from age, weight, and blood type, to what kinds of medications Carlos was taking.

I starred at the door that they took Carlos through, replaying the incident from tonight, watching over and over Carlos falling to the ground. I don't know how much time had passed by the time that the doctor came out to talk to us, but I was now sitting in Tank's lap, his arms wrapped around me. Tank and I immediately stood up as the doctor came forward.

"The family of Carlos Manoso?" We nodded, and the doctor led us over to a group of chairs in the corner of the waiting room.

"Mr. Manoso is in a stable condition at the moment. He is still unconscious which is best for now because it will help his body heal quicker. From the looks of things he had a previous wound that was reopened and he passed out from the loss of blood and being malnourished. I have to report all stabbings to the police."

"But—" I started and Tank grabbed my hand, cutting me off.

"Mr. Manoso works for the government and was recently injured while doing a job. He is also malnourished because of this job and if you have any questions you may call this number." Tank handed the doctor a card that he pulled out of his pocket, "They will inform you of anything that you need to know."

"Very well." The doctor consented. "Now, he may be in a stable condition, but he needs a blood transfusion and soon. He is O- and we do not have enough to give him. Do either of you, or any of his friends," the doctor indicated the rest of the Merrymen, "have O- that they are willing to donate?"

"I am O-" I spoke up, thanking God that I would be able to help out Carlos.

"I will ask our men." Tank heaved himself up and went over to the guys, asking for their blood type. Lester was the closest, but he was O+, a type that Carlos' body would not be able to accept. The doctor escorted me back and Tank insisted on coming with me.

I was taken to a room where Carlos was and an extra bed was wheeled in. I laid down on it and reached my hand out, grasping Carlos' hand. They wrapped a tourniquet around my other arm and quickly set about, drawing my blood. As soon as they had taken what they needed, they took it over to Carlos' bed and hooked it into his IV. I was told to wait and rest for a while in the room with him and soon after, fell asleep.


End file.
